Tillotama Shome’s Bengali film Baksho Bondi – Shadowbox will be the opening film at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2025, marking its official Australian premiere after being screened earlier at the Berlin Film Festival. The Opening Night screening is scheduled for August 14th in Melbourne.
Co-directed by Tanushree Das and Saumyananda Sahi in their directorial debut and produced by Jim Sarbh and Tillotama, Baksho Bondi tells the story of Maya and is set against the backdrop of a dusty Kolkata suburb, weaving a narrative of love, resilience, and the quiet strength of a working woman navigating her everyday life.
Speaking about the film, Tillotama shared in a press release, “Baksho Bondi is incredibly close to my heart. Playing Maya was a lesson in listening to silences, in discovering strength in small acts, and in understanding how quiet resilience shapes women’s lives in a world that often overlooks them. After Berlin, bringing Maya’s story to Melbourne feels special because of the incredible strength and spirit of inclusion that radiates from Mitu, the festival director of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. This film is a love letter to working women, to dusty afternoons in Barrackpore and to the courage that quietly persists even when no one is watching.”
Mitu Bhowmick Lange, director of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, added, “We are honoured to open IFFM 2025 with Baksho Bondi, a film that exemplifies the strength of Indian independent cinema while touching on themes that are deeply personal and globally relatable. Tillotama Shome’s performance as Maya is nothing short of extraordinary, and Tanushree Das and Saumyananda Sahi have crafted a tender, honest, and visually stunning film that resonates with the spirit of resilience and hope. It is exactly the kind of cinema we are proud to showcase at IFFM, and we are excited for Australian audiences to experience this gem on our Opening Night.”
Supported by the Victorian Government, the festival will run from August 14 to 24, with the IFFM awards night set for August 15.
